


Moment

by greekowl87



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Episode: s06e10 Tithonus, F/M, MSR, post ep, post episode, quick write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 04:17:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11661453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekowl87/pseuds/greekowl87
Summary: So, written in an hour, inspired by X-Files Rewatch chat tonight. Post Tithonus. One of my favorite episodes. Sorry for errors and just being rough around the edges in general. MSR.





	Moment

She played gently with Mulder's hair. Her hand shook but her fingers steadied as she raked them through his spiky hair. He was comforting. He was her rock.

This seemed so familiar. She flashed back to countless visits to nameless hospitals. Her ordeal with her cancer stuck out to her. Mulder collapsed over in the awkward, plastic chair, holding tightly to her right hand, his left arm slumped possessively over her abdomen, except this time, it was her waist. She winced, shifting slightly to accompany the new weight going across her.

Her abdomen was still sore, even with all the magical pills and morphine they had given her. Ritter's bullet should have killed her, but here she was. Alive. Mulder laying over her protectively like a sack of potatoes, a very protective sack of potatoes, but a sack of potatoes nonetheless. Her sack of potatoes. She would have curled further into his comforting presence and warmth but she still hurt too much. So, she settled with running her fingertips through his hair. And making the fastest recovery that her doctor's had ever seen.

She sighed and twisted her head towards Mulder. She smiled sheepishly at his snoring. Even at three am, he was adorable, and he was hers. She remembered his Bermuda Triangle confession. I love you. And I love you too, she thought, wishing she could kiss his sleepy form.

The pain meds were reeking havoc with her sleeping. She was awake when everyone was sleeping. She was asleep when everyone was awake. And she was had been close to death again.

Death.

They were old, acquainted friends. At least up until she had met Mulder. She remembered the year before. Cancer. Being by Death's door. Mulder by her side. She remembered 'SHE IS ME'. Seeing dead apparitions. Their bickering. But he was there. He was always there. She nuzzled the pillow, pretending it was his chest, all the while, her fingers continued to rake through his feathery hair. He had saved her with that chip. His faith in that chip had saved her. Unconsciously, she touched the back of her neck, feeling the slightly raised skin, the scar for the chip. That chip had saved her life, defied science, and destroyed her cancer. Or was it him?

She should have died. That near death experience shook her to the core. She realized she wanted to live and who to love. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. He said he loved her. She loved him too. Maybe she could tell him. One day. But she had to, eventually. 

Fellig's words stung with her. Love was only temporary. Seventy-five years at tops.

But he was different. Mulder had always been different.

She winced her recent bullet wound that should have killed her, hurting more. Even in his sleep, he squeezed her hand and she felt his arm squeeze her waist comfortingly. She loved him. What if she was immortal? What about him? Where did it start? Did the chip cause it and she finished it by refusing to look Death in the face? What if she really was immortal? How could she live without Mulder in her life?

For all his platonic gazing and touching the small of her back, he had wormed his way through her heart's defenses and taken residence, making new walls in place of the ones he had broken. There was no future with him. There was no her without him.  
He'd set everything in motion with the chip. How could she face immortality? No. Stop that, Dana, she chastised. She wasn't immortal. She couldn't be.

Maybe Fellig was a really fast healer. Or his paternal line all looked the same. There had to be an explanation. Some logical explanation.

Mulder's grunting startled her line of thought. She rested her hand on the back of his skull comfortingly. He groaned in appreciation. "Glad to see you're awake, Scully," he mumbled, his words half jumbled.

"Say the same, stranger."

He let out a content sigh, not fully awake. "Love you, 'lluy."

"I love you too, Mulder."

He looked up, squinting his sleepy eyes. "Dream?" he asked, dazed.

"No dream," she whispered fiercely. "Real. Sleep."

She put pressure on the back of his skull as he nuzzled their hands sleepily. "Luv you. Glad you alive."

"No future without you, Mulder," she whispered.

She could hear his smile. "'Bout time."

"Go to sleep. This good dream will be a reality soon enough."

The words had escaped her lips without realizing it but he was already asleep. Immortality. The chip. What was she now. None of that mattered in comparison to the sleeping FBI agent who was nuzzling her hand as he settled back to sleep.


End file.
